Incident details
- Date of incident
- September 26, 2025
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
Federal agents at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest in Broadview, Illinois, on Sept. 26, 2025. A Chicago Sun-Times photographer was struck with pepper balls and threatened by agents while covering the demonstration.
An unidentified photojournalist with the Chicago Sun-Times was struck in the legs with pepper balls after being threatened earlier by federal agents with a baton-round launch and a Taser, all while covering a protest outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview, Illinois, on Sept. 26, 2025.
The incident, which appeared to be targeted, occurred during one of a series of demonstrations held outside the facility where detainees are held and processed ahead of deportation, according to information shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker by the Chicago News Guild. The journalist is not being named due to safety concerns.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a Tracker request for comment. In a press release on Sept. 26, DHS described the demonstrators as “rioters,” some of whom were reportedly chanting “shoot ICE.”
“These violent threats and smears about ICE must stop,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. She also called on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to “condemn these riots and tone down their rhetoric about ICE.”
Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson sent a letter to DHS, Block Club Chicago reported, accusing ICE officials of “making war” on her community. Thompson asked that the agency stop “deploying chemical arms such as tear gas, pepper spray, etc. against American citizens, our residents, and our first responders.”
According to a Sept. 27 news release, the village of Broadview said that in retaliation for Thompson’s letter, “ICE agents this morning informed the Broadview Police Department that there will be ‘a sh*t show’ in Broadview today.”
Indeed, federal officers responded to protests with chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions that day — affecting multiple journalists — and later arrested a reporter.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
